The End is Where We Start From
by TheWordThief
Summary: Request for Olympus97. After Iron Man 3, Tony gives up the superhero life. Or tries too. Because as the Avengers try to remind him, they're a team and they won't let him fall behind. But when disaster strikes, can Tony put behind the ghosts of the past, don the red and gold mask and save his team-mates?
1. Chapter 1

**Request for Olympus97**- **sorry about the wait!**

**New multi-chaptered fic, charting events after Iron Man 3, could act as an Avengers sequel. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Avengers, they are a part of the Marvel universe.**

**The title is a Torchwood quote.**

After the Fall/ The End Is Where We Start From

_Looking back, he really shouldn't have been surprised at how things turned out. Of course everything would fall to shit with his goddamn luck and of course the only thing that could buy their freedom was currently sitting at the bottom of the ocean. Damn it. Damn it all to hell._

_He hears a click of a gun being prepared and forces himself to look up and discover which of his friends' temples the cold, unforgiving metal is pressed against…_

**Part 1**

As they survey the remains of the white walls and showy décor of Tony Stark's Malibu mansion, they are struck, once again, by how much has changed since New York. Then, Tony Stark had just been a cocky billionaire who sometimes played at being a superhero. Now he was…'Well, still all of the above' Clint said to himself with a wry smirk. 'Just minus the mansion.' Even as he laughed quietly to himself, he was aware that his statement wasn't quite true. Cocky, yes, billionaire, well, that was a given but hat wasn't the whole picture. There was a whole lot more to Tony Stark than a huge ego and witty one-liners.

Considering its recent run-in with terrorists, the house wasn't looking too bad. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, the mansion looked set to be restored to all its former glory. All the main structural work was already almost complete in a surprisingly short time of just a few weeks. Apparently, when rebuilding a state-of-the-art, beautiful, enormous mansion, having more money than you knew what to do with was a distinct advantage. It always was.

A figure stands overseeing some of the building work. With her tailored skirt and jacket, matching high-heels and stylish hair-do, Pepper Potts is immaculate as always. They try to reconcile this with the last time they saw her, on TV, crying over a head-piece of her boyfriend's suit in the ruins of her perfect life, unaware her every move was being caught on camera.

Pepper turns to direct supplies and spots the Avengers team hovering awkwardly. Her lips quirk upwards in a small smile and she comes towards them.

"Clint, Natasha, Steve, Bruce…We weren't expecting you." She sounds confused and can tell from the way they're dressed that this isn't a social call. The teams dressed for battle.

Natasha, who knows her best, steps forwards, cool mask hiding some of her concern.

"Pepper we heard…a little of what happened. We know you were…how are you?"

A haunted expression briefly crosses Pepper's face. She slowly, deliberately closes her eyes and when she opens them, the expression is gone.

"I'm…ok. No, really, I am. Or at least I'm getting there."

The team smiles in genuine relief. They haven't, with the exception of Natasha, spent much time with Pepper but she's lovely and good for Tony and no way in hell did she deserve to be caught up in this mess.

"Listen, I'm guessing you're here for Tony?"

Steve, as the closest they have to a leader, nods.

"Yes. We were briefed this morning on a mission requiring all the team by Director Fury and- "

"-and Tony was a no-show right?"

"Yes. We were wondering…"

"Look. Tony's not the same. He hasn't been since New York and then this came along and well, all I'm trying to say is maybe there's a reason he was left out of this."

Her tone is gentle, sad and the team can't help but think she's not telling them much more in case she starts crying.

Bruce clears his throat. "We know Pepper, we know. We're worried about him."

A small, sad smile graces Pepper's lips.

"Aren't we all?" she murmurs to herself, before visibly pulling herself together.

"He's round the back. And guys? Try to be gentle."

They find Tony, predictably, bossing around some unfortunate construction guys, who look more than a little relieved to see the team of superheroes approaching. Tony turns to face them, frowns a little, then smiles, a large, cocky, welcoming smile. It doesn't reach his eyes.

He thinks they don't notice.

They do.

"Hey guys!" he calls out, striding towards them. "Er, if you wanted a tour, you've picked a bad time…"

"You missed the meeting." As usual, Clint isn't one to beat around the bush. Tony flinches.

"Yeah, look, about that...I've been doing some thinking and you know, I've got a great girl, whom I really don't deserve- don't tell her I said that- and, you know what, maybe I should give the whole flying round in a tin suit a rest for while."

There's a stunned silence. Natasha is the first to recover.

"What? Please tell me this is a bad joke Tony." She sounds pissed but there's a slight tremor to her voice. She's worried. They all are.

"No joke, Miss Romanov. I'm deadly serious. Blueberry?" he holds a packet out. They ignore it. He doesn't blame them.

"This isn't like you Tony."

The billionaire smirks.

"Concerned Cap? Afraid I'm not much without the suit after all?"

"You know that's not true."

Tony's expression softens.

"Look guys, I'm sorry. But Fury knows and now you know. I threw the Arc Reactor to the bottom of the ocean. I blew up the suits like a firework display. I'm done."

_A few hours earlier…_

_"So what does Fury want this time?" Bruce sighs as he sits heavily down in one of the chairs round the conference table. His question is met by a sea of shrugs._

_"Who knows?" Clint responds._

_"Where's Tony?" The Captain wonders out loud._

_"Who knows?" Clint repeats._

_"Actually Captain, Mr Stark will not be joining us." Fury announces as he strides in self-importantly. _

_This sparks confusion for a moment, before they remember that this is Tony after all._

_One of Natasha's perfectly shaped eyebrows raises slightly in amusement. _

_"Oh really? And where is Mr Stark then Director?"_

_Clint smirks._

_"Oh, you know Tony…drunk…."_

_"…passed out…" Natasha adds._

_"….holed up in the lab…." Bruce contributes._

_Steve smiles in amusement. Fury doesn't._

_"Yes, yes, very funny. Point is, Stark's sitting this one out."_

_The smiles fade._

_"What do you mean 'sitting this one out?" Steve asks. "Isn't he just skipping the meeting?"_

_Fury shakes his head. _

_"No Captain. Mr Stark will not be joining you on this mission."_

_It's clear that to Fury the matter is closed but as he begins the briefing, it's equally clear to the team that no, it isn't. Tony won't be sitting this one out. He's Tony. He's a part of the team._

_~end flashback~_

"I'm serious guys. No more IronMan."

But if there's no more Iron Man, will that mean no more Avengers?

Because in a team, everyone needs to play their part.

**Hope you enjoyed it, let me know what you think! I'm having a bit of trouble with my internet connection so please bear with me as I try to update everything- I will, I promise!**

**TheWordThief**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the reviews and support, glad you seem to be enjoying this so far! This update's a bit shorter, I had a bit of trouble with it but I'm happy with it now so please tell me what you think.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Avengers, they belong to the Marvel universe.**

**Part 2**

They did it. That one thing they'd all individually sworn never to do. They left a team-mate standing there watching as they turned their backs and walked away. The fact that it was what Tony wanted didn't make it any better.

They all pretended not to see the tears in Natasha's eyes as they past Pepper, who was standing dejectedly looking towards her boyfriend. She looked like she had taken on the world, won and then discovered that it was all meaningless anyway. The moment of her victory, of Tony's victory, had been snatched from her and she was left with nothing but the ruins of her home.

"So what do we do now?" Clint ventures to ask after a silence that has gone on far too long.

"We have our orders." Steve's voice is tense, clipped. Military through and through, except they all know it isn't the thought of the mission that making him act like this.

"But-"

"We have our orders." The Captain looks round to face them from where he's settled in the cockpit of the jet and sighs. "I don't like this anymore than you do. It doesn't sit right. This is what being in a team is meant to be about. But we have a job to do and Tony's made his choice. And right now, we need to focus on the mission. Not Tony. Ok?"

They nod slowly, reluctantly. Natasha gets up from her position near the front of the plane and stalks to the back, making it clear she wants to be alone.

"Yeah, well, we never were much of a team anyway." She mutters as she passes through, throwing the statement over her shoulder as though the anger evident in her voice is purely professional and not directed at herself, at Tony for being a stubborn bastard, at the world for throwing more shit at them than they can handle.

Not even Clint follows her. Even though they know she's just upset, that her words have no meaning or purpose except to show how pissed off she is with everything right now, they can't help but remember them. At the front, Steve tries desperately to concentrate on flying the plane but he's done this so many times before and part of his mind is free to wander.

_"Take away the suit and what are you?"_

_"Afraid I'm not much without the suit after all?"_

Those words, thrown out at Tony when they barely knew each other, in a moment of frustration before they began to understand each other, to trust each other, whirl round and round his head, haunting him.

_"Afraid I'm not much without the suit after all?"_

He's not afraid of that. He's afraid that the Avengers aren't much without Tony.

They arrive at the site they've been instructed to infiltrate, a predictable non-descript warehouse in the middle of nowhere- because heaven forbid villains were actually, you know, original when choosing secret hide-outs. It's boring and grey and looks abandoned- so of course, they're on full alert as they enter the complex. The warehouse is supposedly the headquarters and storage facilities for an extremist group S.H.I.E.L.D's had their eye on for a while. Whilst for the most part, essentially harmless, if a little, erm, misguided in their world view, over the last few months there's been a worrying spike in activity, with more attacks on minor military bases, thefts and suspicious shipments. Watching from afar, three days ago S.H.I.E.L.D had decided enough was enough and called the Avengers team in once they'd drawn up a plan of action. As plans go, it's a pretty good one and like the best, is simple and straightforward. Less things to go wrong. Less complicated rendez-vous' and formations to remember. Get in and get out and on the way, find out what they're up to, take the leaders into custody and don't be seen until it's too late for retaliation.

They've faced worse. Case in hand- New York. Just a routine mission but there's something wrong. Everything's a little too cliché. Or maybe it's because Tony's not here telling them all to 'suit up' and cracking jokes at their expense.

Everyone's ready to go, so with a sigh, Steve squares his shoulders, turns towards the building and leads them in.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for the long wait between updates, I've put the following message on my profile but am also putting it on all my the next instalments of my fics because it has been a stupidly long time and you all deserve at least some explanation:**

_Update 19/10/13: I am aware I haven't updated anything for ages and thought you all deserved an explanation. Firstly, though, none of these fics are, or will ever be, abandoned. I've just got a lot on, I've just started the first year of A Levels, which is very stressful and takes up most of my time and I've spent a week abroad. As well as this, I'm struggling with very frequent migraines, so am ill a lot of the time so I'm finding it really hard to update. I'm hoping to get a few more updates out in the next week or so though. Thanks for your patience._

_Love you all, DFTBA_

_-TheWordThief xx_

**Hope that helps explain things, I'm really sorry about the wait but hopefully everything will be sorted soon!**

**Without further ado then, part three:**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any part of the Iron Man and Avengers franchises or any part of the Marvel universe.**

**Part 3**

"Stark. We need you to come in."

Tony almost drops the phone he's so shocked. Almost. But not quite. Because he's Tony freakin' Stark and he doesn't drop mobile phones in shock.

"Fury. How about no?"

He can practically sense Fury's glare down the phone and totally doesn't flinch. Because he's Tony freakin' Stark and Tony freakin' Stark isn't in the least but intimidated by Fury in his big black coat and matching eye-patch.

"I'm not fucking around Stark. This is serious. We _need_ you to come in."

"Why?"

The barely concealed boredom drips from his lips like honey.

"It concerns the Avengers Initiative."

"The what? The Avengers Initiative? You mean that little superhero club I'm no longer part of? Or do I have to remind you Fury? I _quit._"

He feels kind of bad for being so scornful about the others but he pushes that aside. He needs Fury to understand. He can't just drop everything and come in anymore. He has Pepper. And no Arc Reactor.

"We need you to-"

"No. _No. _I _quit. _That wasn't a 'I'm just gonna take a holiday now guys'. That wasn't a 'I retire from active service but feel free to keep me on as a consultant, odd-job man or as back-up for when the rest of you can't do your job properly', that was an 'I quit'. As in for good."

There's silence on the other end of the phone and for a minute Tony thinks he's done it, Fury's finally accepted that he's gone and not coming back. Then there's a sigh down the other end of the phone and Tony knows with an awful sinking feeling that this is Nick Fury and he doesn't give up that easily.

"Tony. _Please._"

And Tony listens because even when Loki declared war on Earth and aliens came out of the sky, Fury had never sounded this desperate. This defeated.

So Tony listens.

And hears Fury tell him that the others are gone, taken, that he's the only one left.

_'But I'm not even an Avenger! I quit, I fucking quit!' _he wants to scream but he doesn't just nods dumbly when Fury tells him there'll be a plane to pick him before remembering he's on the phone and croaking out 'Ok.'

And then he hangs up and goes to find Pepper because he might be Iron Man, but she's the one made of steel.

"What the fuck is going on?" he demands as he walks, no, strides into the room.

"Ah, Stark, glad you could you could make it."

"Cut the bullshit Fury, why am I here? Where are they? And what mess are they in this time?"

No-one bothers to remind him that he's usually one of the one's in the mess.

"It was a routine mission. Should've been simple. But in retrospect it was too simple. Too textbook."

"It was a trap." He knows he's right and the words taste sour in his mouth.

Fury nods.

"Yes. They were meant to infiltrating a warehouse used by a minor extremist group."

"Let me guess, it didn't exactly go to plan."

"No. an hour ago, we received this."

He picks up a remote and points it at a screen, which flickers to life. Tony's heart turns to ice and he can't look away as the film starts.

_Earlier…_

_Steve can't really remember where it all went wrong. One minute they were all in correct formation and everything was going textbook perfect. The next, they were surrounded, super powers and superior skill no match for surprise and sheer numbers. Bruce didn't even have time to change before he was rendered unconscious- clearly they wanted to get the most unpredictable threat out of the way first- and though the others fought, the surprise nature of the attack meant they were trying to make up lost ground from the start. Eventually, they all met the same fate as Bruce._

_They came round chained to the wall of a small, dark storeroom. They've barely adjusted to the new surroundings when someone is pointing a blinding light at them and the small red recording dot of a camera starts flashing in the semi-darkness._

The film starts with darkness and a few indistinct noises. Then a light flashes on, a torch, though a powerful one, shone round what is now revealed to be a small, bare room. Bare, apart from the sickening glint of the flashlight on chains wrapped around the faintly stirring figures of his former team-mates. Tony feels sick just looking at the pain and confusion written clearly across their faces, though in seconds, that brief flash of vulnerability has been replaced with cold, steely professionalism.

The cold, steely professionalism mask stays firmly on as the kidnappers show they mean business. As they hit Steve round the face with his own shield, as they break each of Clint's fingers (Tony has to admit, that one was neat- he won't be able to use a bow properly for weeks.), drag Natasha up to the camera by her hair and threaten her with her knife. Clint almost cracks at that one but doesn't because the two of them are veterans at this. Tony watches this as it gets worse and knows it will be worse when they turn the camera off. When there's no-one watching.

The team's masks may stay on but his doesn't. And then come the words that strike a cold, dead fear into Tony's chest.

"Give us Tony Stark. Give us Tony Stark and his precious Arc Reactor and the rest can go free. If not…then how slowly do you think we can kill them?"

The film ends and Tony is aware that he is pale and clammy and has been since the lights went up on that sick show and he was reminded of a cave in Afghanistan, only this time, it is his friends who are in chains.

Fury looks at him.

"Stark. We're not going to hand you over. Whether you've quit or not, you're an asset. Or a liability in the wrong hands. Either way, we can't risk it."

Vaguely, Tony realises that Fury, the one who said he didn't play well with others, who wasn't suitable for the Avengers, has just called him an asset. But it doesn't matter.

_"Give us Tony Stark. Give us Tony Stark and his precious Arc Reactor and the rest can go free. If not…then how slowly do you think we can kill them?"_

But the Arc Reactor's at the bottom of the ocean.

Slowly Tony turns to Fury.

"I threw it away." He whispers, the full horror of what he's done hitting him like a bomb blast.

"I know." Fury replies.

"Then what." Tony asks numbly. "Do you want me to do?"

**Hope you enjoyed it, please drop me a line to let me know what you think if you have a moment, I really appreciate it.**

**-TheWordThief**


End file.
